Music for Motivation

This past week, while most students had already begun their Spring Break festivities, the Rice Swim team was competing in the season closing 4 day CUSA competition. After a year of misfortunes, countless injuries and illnesses and the obvious disadvantage of a nonexistent dive team, we entered the CUSA championship as the severe underdogs. Yet somehow, with a little luck and our hard work finally paying off, we became CUSA Swim and “Dive” Champions for the first time in the history of our school. But what comes next is three long weeks of freedom from the pool, sleeping in, staying out late, actually finishing homework and… attempting to do a work out on land! While for the next few weeks we aren’t required to put mileage into the pool, we are expected to stay in shape and be prepared for off-season training. With that in mind, I’ve found it extremely difficult to find motivation in working out! It is so disheartening to think that in the peak of training we are swimming roughly 6 miles a day, yet when I hopped on the treadmill, finishing 1 mile of running felt like an impossible task. 

In an attempt to increase my productivity at the gym and make it past that daunting 1 mile mark (pathetic, I know), I grabbed my ipod and cranked up the volume. Whether it was Salt and Pepper telling me to Push It or Willow insisting I whip my hair back and forth, I ended up hitting mile 5 with ease. Can music really make that big of a difference in performance and motivation? The science says YES! According to multiple studies, listening to music while exercising reduces the sensation of fatigue, increases mental arousal, improves motor coordination and promotes relaxation. There has also been research that looks into what type of music allows for the greatest increase in performance. A study with 50 college males and females showed that stimulating music showed a large increase in strength on a grip test in comparison to no music or white noise. Whether it’s the way the music distracts you from the pain or monotony of a workout or the how the desire to get through a great song can push you a little further, music is a huge motivator when it comes to improving your fitness.

Here are some great workouts to try that are centered around music:

Spinning: A stationary biking class that uses music to create a high-energy atmosphere and rhythm to bike to. It’s a great cardiovascular exercise that burns a high amount of calories!

Zumba: A dance fitness program that uses today’s most popular music to get people moving. Even if you don’t burn any calories dancing around, your abs get a great workout as you laugh at yourself and your friends trying to keep up with the well rehearsed instructor.

Nike + ipod: A sensor that you place in your shoe that is connected to your ipod and tracks how many miles you run or how much exercise you complete. This is a great way to watch your progress while staying motivated by the songs in your ipod.

My favorites songs to exercise to (feel free to make fun of me, but I promise they work!):

No Stress – Laurent Wolf

Break My Stride – Matthew Wilder

Memories – David Guetta

Black and Yellow – Wiz Khalifa

Forever – Walter Meego

All of the Lights – Kanye West

E.T.- Katy Perry

You Make My Dreams- Daryl Hall and John Oates

The Show Goes On- Lupe Fiasco